Pope Leo XIV says sex abusive priests shouldn’t be excluded from “mercy”, victims sidelined again

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(Edited)

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French Bishops Photo: AP

When I read the news reporting the words of Pope Leo XIV to the French bishops gathered in Lourdes for the spring plenary assembly from March 23 to 27, I felt disgusted and utterly disheartened. In the message, I quote the Pope’s words verbatim, where he says: “It is positive that priests guilty of abuse are not excluded from mercy and are the subject of your pastoral reflections.” These are shameful and disturbing words when one thinks of the victims involved: children and adolescents abused by those who should have protected them, and this comes to speak of mercy for them?

That is, importance is given to a pastoral path of mercy for those who committed sexual violence, the same or even greater importance than the protection of victims, this is pure madness and shows how much the balance between guilt and clemency in the Church is shifted in favor of the guilty when those who suffer are innocent.

Children and young people have suffered violence, fear, and isolation, and what does the ecclesiastical hierarchy do? It spreads the idea that the “sinner” must be welcomed into mercy and is worthy of reflection. They should rot in prison, not receive mercy.

What clearly emerges is a jumble of talk where there is much discussion of prevention and reparation just to look good in front of the media and blind faithful, but in practice, instead of giving real protection to victims or preventing other cases of abuse from happening, the guilty enjoy pastoral attention.

References: https://www.ansa.it/english/news/vatican/2026/03/25/pope-calls-for-mercy-for-sex-abuse-priests_7ad0bae1-3e4a-49b4-904c-846d6b986764.html

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What does he mean?

Mercy always, for the sinner, no matter the sin. But retribution, protection of the innocent, admission of guilt, punishment. Pastoral attention to be sure, if that means guidance to become better people, but pastoral attention in the context of compensation, punishment and retribution. For forgiveness there must be admission of guilt and penance (including prison terms).

So, does the Pope mean what I explain or is he letting them off the hook? If it is the latter, yes, disgusting.

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to me it seems a forgiving without many consequences... i've read this analysis which i have translated and reported down here which convince me

Pope Leo XIV has broken his hesitation and, with the letter sent this morning (March 25, 2026) to the French Church, delivers a clear and reassuring message to thousands of pedophile priests and abusers in general: for the Church, these criminals are sinners, and therefore they are guaranteed forgiveness.
In practice, taking the Pope’s words literally, what emerges is a sort of generalized amnesty, albeit unofficial. Thus, the prattle about “zero tolerance” proclaimed by his predecessor Francis—applied, moreover, against enemies and forgotten for friends—is definitively set aside. And a soft landing appears to be taking shape for the most prominent defendant, the mosaic artist and theologian, former Jesuit Marko Rupnik, a friend and protégé of Jorge Mario Bergoglio. The former head of the Augustinians remains perfectly faithful to the teaching of Saint Augustine: justice must be exercised for the good of the victim and for the good of the sinner (placed on the same level), and of the whole Church.
And for the sinner, the Church knows only the path of forgiveness and rehabilitation. One might therefore ask what purpose the courts (both civil and ecclesiastical) serve, if not to ensure that abusers can serenely continue in the priesthood, perhaps working with minors, after a process of rehabilitation. With the message to the French Church, the picture has become clear.
Victims of abuse now know that it is not the Church but a police station that is the place to seek justice. Because today the Pope has made it known that, for him, someone like Rupnik is not a criminal but a sinner. And that the Church reserves “attention” for the victims, and “mercy” for the abusers—that is, forgiveness without justice.

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